Kim Fay's Blog: Literate in L.A.

Today I have the honor of guest blogging at Naked Authors, home to a stellar group of mystery writers: Ridley Pearson, Jacqueline Winspear, Paul Levine, James O. Born, Cornelia Read and my fabulous friend, Patricia Smiley, who invited me to share my thoughts on the role of silence in a writer's life:

Recently, I spent two and a half weeks at my parents’ house. They live in Tucson in a development overlooking the Santa Catalina Mountains. It was quiet there, very quiet, and not just because it’s in the middle of the desert. I was alone, choosing to go when my parents were out of town. The reason? Why waste time applying for writing retreats or spend money to stay in a writing colony when I had a perfectly good escape just an hour’s flight away?

To continue reading at Naked Authors, click here.

The view from my writing desk in Tucson

Last week my dear friend, the fabulous writer Janet Brown, asked me to participate in a blog hop … one writer after another passing a baton consisting of four questions about the writing life. Janet hopped from Susan Blumberg-Kason’s blogto mine, and I am hopping from hers to Diane Vallere’s.
The author of Tone Deaf in Bangkok, Almost Home and the forthcoming Light and Silence (all from ThingsAsian Press), Janet is one of my favorite essayists of all times. I call her that, rather than a travel writer, because her writing is so much more fluid and perceptive than what often passes for travel writing today. She is a master of observation and deserves a place on your shelf with your travel classics.

In a completely different realm, Diane is a master of fashion and humor, which she combines to create her fabulous mystery series—Style and Error and Mad for Mod, the latter series paying tribute to Doris Day. Diane’s books are light-hearted fun … well, except for all the dead bodies piling up along the way!

With that, I will now answer the four questions:
What am I working on?I’ve never been a writer to work on only one book at a time. I like to write in concentrated bursts, then take a break. A big break. But I still want to keep writing, so during the break I’ll work on something else, going back and forth until I have leapfrogged my way to finished novels.
Right now, I am leap-frogging with a historical/domestic/political suspense (how’s that for a genre?!) novel set in Vietnam from 1937 to 1975 and a mystery novel (hopefully the start of a series) set in L.A. in 1971. I’m in the first draft stages of both and moving along as fast as I can while also conducting massive research for both projects.
The Hollywood sign in 1971 - it looks
as if a giant rat has been nibbling on itHow does my work differ from others in its genre?While my books contain mysteries and (hopefully) suspense, they are not fast-paced. I like stories that build, and lately I have been reading a lot of mysteries written by women in the 1950s and 1960s. In these books, careful pacing carries the plot, and psychology, rather than action, drives the suspense. As for the historical genre, the main difference is that with my debut novel, The Map of Lost Memories, I wrote about a place that has little, if any, fiction written about it in English—1920s Indochina.
Why do I write what I do?Setting inspires me. I am inspired by places that fascinate me—Vietnam and Los Angeles being at the top of the list. I am fascinated by the way setting shapes character. I love learning more about a place, and writing a novel about it is the perfect way to immerse myself in it, especially in that place during different periods in time.  
Searching for settings in Vietnam - a bedroom
in a house overlooking the Saigon RiverHow does your writing process work?I am The Queen of layering. I can’t say that I outline, but I do sketch out my novels before I start. Then I sketch a chapter, but before I move on to the next, I will rewrite it one, two, maybe three more times, drawing a new layer over it each time. This is not a revision process. That will come later. The initial layering is all very much first draft from-the-gut writing. As for the revising, I am without a doubt at least a three draft writer, if not more. And when I say draft, I mean full revision. I’m trying to change that with my new mystery novel by doing more work in advance—character development, plot points, etc. I’m curious to see if that will help. So far, so good!

When author Jeri Westerson invited me to write a guest post for Poe's Deadly Daughters, I was honored. Jeri is a legend in the L.A. mystery writing community: president of Mystery Writers of America's SoCal branch and vice-president of Sisters-in-Crime L.A. Her medieval noir series is fantastic, and her energy, which contributes significantly to the welcoming atmosphere of the mystery community, is one of the reasons I had such a fun time writing the following post:

Solving the Mystery of My First Love

One morning in January, I opened my email to find a message from the marketing manager assigned to my novel at my publisher: I just heard the Edgar news and wanted to send you my congratulations!

Edgar news? Congratulations?

Although I didn’t know what she meant, my heart still skipped a beat. I quickly Googled “Kim Fay” and “Edgar.” There it was. My novel, The Map of Lost Memories, was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American Author. An Edgar! The mustachioed Oscar of the mystery writing world! Incredible! Except for one thing …

My novel wasn’t a mystery.

Was it?

To continue reading this post, click here to go to Poe's Deadly Daughters.


With my fellow First Novel Nominees (photo by Steven Speliotis)

As the publication date nears (June 18) for the paperback edition of The Map of Lost Memories, I have been working on a book club guide with my publisher, to be included in the back of the book. I was just sent a final version and would like to post it here. 

NOTE: The guide assumes you've read the book, so there are spoilers in it. 


THE MAP OF LOST MEMORIESKim Fay A Reader’s Guide
A Conversation with Kim Fay
Random House Reader’s Circle: The Map of Lost Memories takes place in Shanghai, Saigon, and Cambodia. What inspired you to set a novel in these exotic places?
Kim Fay: When I was a child, my grandpa would tell my sister and me stories about his life as a sailor in Asia in the early 1930s. He loved that part of the world, and we would pore over his photos from that time, most of which were of Shanghai and captured images of rickshaws and sampans against a backdrop of imposing European buildings. As I grew up, my fascination with Asia simmered until I graduated from college and made my first trip. I was instantly smitten by the magical combination of foreignness and familiarity from the stories on which I had been raised, and I continued to travel to the region until, in 1995, I moved to Vietnam to teach English. I had no idea how at home I would feel in this country. I ended up living there for four years, and I have spent the past eighteen years writing about it in articles, guidebooks, and a food memoir. As a fiction writer, it felt natural for me to set a novel in the region.
RHRC: Why did you choose to set your novel in 1925? What was it about this time period that suited the story you wanted to tell?
KF: Again, my grandpa can take partial credit, since that was the era when he was traveling in Asia. But beyond this personal note, The Map of Lost Memories needed a time in which there were not black- and- white attitudes about the morality of trafficking and owning art. This era, the 1920s, began forming in the late nineteenth century, when the advent of mass tourism and the lack of laws protecting cultural relics meant that average travelers could simply purchase rare artifacts and take them home as souvenirs. At this same time, the birth of art dealing as a profession was fueled by robber barons and industrialists who pursued collecting with the same determination that they pursued their business interests. In addition, colonialism (and its hubris) was at its heyday in Asia, China’s fledgling Communist party was experiencing a pivotal moment with the death of Sun Yat-sen, and just to travel in a foreign land was an adventure in and of itself. The novel also takes place in a kind of golden era, between the atrocities of WWI and WWII and before the Great Depression and the Communist takeover of China, an era when many people felt an unprecedented freedom that was reflected in their actions. Given all of these elements, I can’t imagine another time period in which The Map of Lost Memories could take place.
RHRC: Your novel incorporates China’s revolutionary politics, the vagaries of colonialism and ancient Cambodian history. How much of the book is based on fact?
KF: One of my main goals with the novel was to make it as historically accurate as possible, especially in regard to Khmer history. While I knew a bit about the Khmer temples when I moved to Vietnam, most notably Angkor Wat, my real interest in them came when a friend gave me Silk Roads by Axel Madsen, a nonfiction book about André and Clara Malraux. In 1923, this young French couple lost their small fortune, and in what can only be called a moment of sheer audacity, decided to loot a Cambodian temple and live off the sale of a few choice artifacts.
The Malrauxs set sail from France to Cambodia, and with the help of a fellow adventurer and local laborers, they managed to pry a seven-piece, 1,000-pound bas relief from the abandoned temple of Banteay Srei. They were caught almost immediately and put under house arrest in the capital city of Phnom Penh. While awaiting trial, they had the freedom to roam the city. During this time, they witnessed the injustices of colonialism, and this experience changed their lives, launching their involvement in the revolutionary politics of the region.
The deeper I dug, the more fascinating these two became. I read Clara’s memoirs and André’s The Royal Way, a novel about an expedition to find a hidden temple in Cambodia. In the end, the Malrauxs inspired my characters Roger and Simone Merlin, and their experience sparked The Map of Lost Memories, as well as my own interest in Cambodian history. As a novelist, I wanted to weave this history into a story in a way that didn’t feel like a dry academic lesson. This resulted in the lost temple and scrolls. While these are fictitious, the premise they support is not. In 1925 little was known about the rise and fall of the ancient Khmer civilization. Even now there are conflicting theories and missing puzzle pieces. But back then, the day-to-day history and fate of the Khmer were genuine mysteries, making it the perfect subject for a novel.
RHRC: Did you use any particular methods for organizing or planning this novel? Did you end up having a favorite (or least favorite) part of the writing process? And were you ever surprised by where the narrative took you while writing?
KF: I love plot, and because of this, plot is always what comes to me first. With The Map of Lost Memories, the minute I realized I wanted to write about the looting of a Cambodian temple, a plot appeared, fully formed. I say a plot and not the plot because although stories come to me whole, the story I start with is rarely the story I finish with. I wrote a first draft of this novel in less than a year. Then the real work began as I wrote another draft and another . . . and then another and another! While some writers might consider this the revision process, for me it is more of a layering process. I craft one layer over the next, writing myself closer with each layer to the story I want to tell. I love this process because it allows my characters to grow and evolve in organic ways, and I get to spend this time getting to know them better and understanding them in the context of the story, which also becomes richer each new time I work with it.
This said, my least favorite part—or more accurately, the hardest part for me—is character development. Characters are my weakness. Often, when I start writing, I have no idea who my characters are, and I sometimes find myself forcing them to go against their natures in order to serve the plot I’ve created. This is always a mistake! Fortunately, characters usually have minds of their own, and if you give them enough space, they will develop in incredible ways.
As for surprises, I was definitely surprised when Simone and Irene killed Roger, because he was supposed to chase them all the way to Cambodia. I was also surprised when Mr. Simms decided to show up in Cambodia. But the most intriguing surprise was Clothilde. She did not exist in early drafts of the book, and when she first appeared, she was simply Mr. Simms’s nurse. But the more I wrote, the more she demanded a life and story of her own. I think she was protesting the lack of local characters in the book. I don’t blame her, but I was wary of including a local cast, because I felt I had to stay true to the Western view of Asia in the 1920s, and that viewpoint was so awful most of the time. Even Irene, who loves Cambodia and its culture, has a pretty terrible attitude toward the local population. Also, when it came to local women and their role in Western expatriate society at that time, they were generally confined to being servants, mistresses, or prostitutes. While Clothilde is indeed Mr. Simms’s mistress, I hope that her reasons for this are sympathetic and that her individuality comes through. I wish I would have developed her further, but she has recently informed me that I am not done with her and she will appear in a future novel.
RHRC: A historical novel obviously requires a great deal of research. Is this something you enjoy doing? How did you go about researching The Map of Lost Memories? And was there anything about the process that caused difficulties for you along the way?
KF: For as many of the scenes in my book as was possible, I visited the setting—every place from a hotel café in Saigon to a remote wooded path along the Mekong River. I am fortunate to have lived in the region where the novel takes place and to be able to travel back frequently. My four years in Vietnam gave me a strong sense of the book’s physical setting, especially since Saigon still contained many notable remnants of the French colonial world that once inhabited it when I lived there. I could walk the city’s streets, as well as those of Shanghai and Phnom Penh, and imagine myself back into an earlier time period. This isn’t as easy to do today, since all three cities have been greatly modernized over the past two decades. I also spent time at Angkor Wat and the surrounding Khmer temples, which have remained essentially unchanged over time. It was a privilege to be able to write scenes set at the temples while actually being at the temples.
Along with personal experience, I relied heavily on the Los Angeles Public Library and the Internet. When I started the book in 1995, only the former existed . . . and I’m glad! While I enjoy trolling the Internet, I appreciate the limitations, so to speak, of access only to books. Without the endless distractions of the Web, I was free to lose myself in obscure travelogues from the 1920s, which offered insight into the attitudes of travelers during that era. And books such as Pillaging Cambodia: The Illicit Traffic in Khmer Art; Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft; Loot! The Heritage of Plunder; and Plundered Past: The Story of the Illegal International Traffic in Works of Art—combined with the Malrauxs’ accounts of their temple- robbing experience—gave me a certain level of comfort when it came to writing characters who felt at ease taking the cultural relics of another country.
Because I adore research, it’s too easy for me to get sidetracked, especially since the Internet enabled me to do things like buy a vintage map of Phnom Penh, download dozens of postcards of the city from the 1920s, and practically reconstruct the capital on my dining room table! But while I know I get carried away with research, I don’t consider this a detriment. Research gives me as much pleasure as writing. In fact, I consider it a part of my writing rather than a byproduct of it, which is probably why I enjoy historical fiction so much.
RHRC: Irene is an ambitious and determined character, but she is not always sympathetic, especially in the beginning of the novel when she sets out to steal a cultural artifact for her own gain. Where did the idea for Irene and her quest come from, and why did you choose to write such an atypical female character?
KF: Some of the first books I read on my own when I was a child were Nancy Drew mysteries, and I must confess: Irene Blum is a grown-up version of Nancy Drew, albeit a version without moral boundaries. Nancy was smart, strong, independent, and infinitely curious, and this prototype instantly came to mind when I decided to write a book about the quest for a priceless artifact that featured a young American woman as the main character.
I am fascinated by readers’ strong responses to Irene. Many readers I have met love her but struggle with liking her. We often talk about how this dislike is a result of prejudice, because she is a woman. I’ve been told that if Irene were a man—feeling and behaving the same way—it would be much easier to accept and forgive her actions. For me, though, Irene is an ambitious woman of circumstance driven by two things: an obsession with the mystery of the Khmer’s lost history and a need to restore her shattered reputation. These motives set up a contradiction that blinds her to any harm she might cause in her quest to get what she wants.
In addition, Irene has been raised among self-serving men who feel a sense of proprietorship when it comes to art—in an era when boundaries in the areas of cultural entitlement and art ownership were blurred, at best. The majority believed that art should belong to the person or institution that could best care for and preserve it. As for her feelings about the Cambodians, Irene has also lived her entire adult life in an academic world where Cambodians are subjects for study, not flesh and blood people. Of course, not everyone in 1925 was a potential temple robber, but given Irene’s circumstances, if I had made her feel guilt- ridden about her attitude toward the Khmer people and about what she intends to do with their history (or if I had forced her to have a complete change of heart by the end of the book), then she would have become a modern, PC character, untrue to the general attitudes of the time period in which the book takes place.
RHRC: Many authors find that their characters are extensions of themselves, in one way or another. Is that true for you? Which character did you identify with most while writing? Are any of the characters in The Map of Lost Memories based on people you know?
KF: Family and friends who have read my novel insist that they can see many of my traits in Irene. While she is the character most like me, I don’t think she is an extension of me. As I was working on the novel, our similarity was in our shared sense of obsession—she with finding her temple, and me with writing The Map of Lost Memories and having it published. Funnily enough, if Irene achieved her goal, then I stood a chance of achieving mine. In this way, I identified with Irene—her desire for one thing more than any other in her life, compounded with the fears and wrong turns that can accompany such a strong desire. At the same time, I hope I’m not as cold as Irene. Writing that aspect of her was hard for me, because my love for Vietnam is very personal. When I moved there, I forged close friendships almost immediately; those friends are now “sisters,” and I cannot imagine my life without them.
As for real (and not-so-real) life influences on the other characters, Marc was shaped in part by the Harlequin romances I read when I was a teen and named after a crush I had in Amsterdam when I was twenty-one. Anne is a composite of the strong, independent women in my life: Mom, grandmas, sister, aunts, great- aunts, and cousins. Mr. Simms owes his puppet-master qualities to the fact that I had just read John Fowles’ The Magus when I started writing The Map of Lost Memories. And Clothilde owes her grace to my friend Huong, who is always elegant, even in rainstorms in the middle of the jungle. Perhaps closest to my heart, despite his small role, is Irene’s dad. He was inspired by my grandpa—a sailor in the South China Sea, a night watchman at a museum in Seattle, and a single dad raising the headstrong girl who became my mom.
RHRC: Along with presenting a straightforward quest for a lost relic, your novel explores the moral dilemmas posed by that quest. What inspired you to delve so deeply into the question of what is best for the Cambodian people in regard to their cultural heritage, as well as their own future?
KF: I have always been fascinated by colonial fiction (Graham Greene, George Orwell, etcetera), and during the four years that I lived in Vietnam, surrounded by remnants of French colonialism, my curiosity grew about the Westerners who once came to Asia to claim a piece of it for themselves. At this same time, I was surprised to discover the sense of entitlement that existed among certain expatriate groups, even in the 1990s. Sometimes it was subtle, but other times it was appallingly blatant, and I found myself wanting to write about this attitude in the era when colonialists held all the power and the locals held none—a local population, in the case of Cambodia, that was once one of the world’s greatest civilizations.
In regard to my book, the questions I raise—or perhaps I should say, the way I have raised them through my characters’ feelings and behavior—have caused debate among readers. I think this is because many readers want to apply modern standards to the 1920s. I too wanted redemption for my characters in regard to the issues explored in the novel, but I eventually realized that if they were going to be honest reflections of a certain kind of person at a certain time, redemption in a sense that I understood was just not possible. As well, it undermined the novel to try to explore the issues from a twenty-first-century standpoint.
Essentially, The Map of Lost Memories follows a prevailing 1920s mindset: because the Cambodians had neglected the Angkor Wat temples and let them fall into ruin, they were not worthy beneficiaries of their own heritage. The French, on the other hand, having rescued and restored the temples, were their rightful owners. Of course, while the French were restoring Cambodia’s cultural relics, they were also taking items for their private collections and museums in France. The irony is that this looting most likely saved many precious artworks from disappearing in the 1970s during the Khmer Rouge reign of terror. Countless invaluable objects disappeared during this time, and in fact, Khmer relics and the Angkor temples are still at risk today. 
At the time of the publication of The Map of Lost Memories, the Cambodian government was in dispute with Sotheby’s auction house over an ancient Khmer statue believed to have been stolen from the country. And the Angkor temples, despite being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are still victims of looters. My favorite temple, Banteay Srei—the temple raided by André and Clara Malraux—is very different now from when I first visited it in 1997. The stunning faces of many of its celestial goddesses have been removed for underground sale. While my book is certainly not intended to make a statement, it’s gratifying to see how strongly readers feel about a country’s right to its own cultural relics.
RHRC: This is your first novel, although it is not your first book. Was the process and experience of writing The Map of Lost Memories different from your previous works?
KF: The Map of Lost Memories is my first published novel, but not my first novel. When I was ten years old, I knew that I wanted to be a novelist, and I wrote the Nancy Drew–inspired Mystery of the Golden Galleon. This was immediately followed by a romantic adventure called This Is the Life about two young women traveling on the French Riviera, which I’d read about in National Geographic. I went on to write half a dozen more novels, mostly romances, in junior high and high school, and when I was in college, I finally wrote a “serious” novel in a genre that did not yet exist (chick-lit). Despite all that fiction writing, I was still finding my way as a novelist, and after working for five years at an independent bookstore in Seattle, I moved to Vietnam and found myself on the path to becoming a travel writer. Although I was still working on my fiction, I created my own guidebook series, which I continue to edit. And I eventually wrote a food memoir, Communion: A Culinary Journey Through Vietnam, which was published in 2010.
Because The Map of Lost Memories is a novel, it allowed my imagination to run wild. With fiction, there is structure, but there are no absolutes. A writer can follow any path a novel takes, just to see where it leads. Of course, there are a lot of dead ends. But sometimes the path winds along to the most satisfying place. For Communion, I was working with a story that already existed: Vietnamese culture and history, which I was viewing through the lens of the country’s cuisine. In addition, I was using a framework based in reality: a five-week culinary journey that I had taken through Vietnam. When I wrote Communion, I felt as if I was putting together a thousand-piece puzzle. The difficulty was that I had five thousand pieces to work with, so I needed to find just the right ones to fit together. With The Map of Lost Memories, on the other hand, if I got stuck I could create a brand-new piece and give it a try. Sometimes it fit, and other times it didn’t. But it was entirely up to my imagination. While it might seem that fiction writing offers more freedom, I don’t think that’s the case. Fiction and nonfiction each offer their own freedoms and their own limitations, which is why I am almost always working on both at the same time.
RHRC: Who are your influences as an author? What do you read when you’re writing? What is your all-time favorite historical novel?
KF: I was a reader at heart even before I knew the alphabet—when I was an infant, while my dad was working, my mom would read her books out loud to me. As I got older, my parents dropped me off at used bookstores the way other parents dropped their kids off at video arcades, and they always let me order as many books as I wanted from the Scholastic catalogs that were distributed at school a few times a year. In addition, I come from a family of storytellers. When I was a young girl, I would get under the covers with my sister while our dad made up absurd stories about Raggedy Kojak (a pathetic Raggedy Ann doll that had lost its hair) and his faithful mouse-monster sidekick, Mousiestein. On nights when he did not whip up one of his episodic tales, our grandpa told us his stories about life as a sailor in Shanghai.
I devoured books as a kid and read all the usual suspects, from Beverly Cleary to Judy Blume. But I was especially drawn to historical fiction (the Little House on the Prairie series, Little Women) and female-driven mysteries (Nancy Drew, Harriet the Spy). To celebrate the publication of The Map of Lost Memories, my sister tracked down a copy of one of my junior high favorites, Mystery of the Emerald Buddha, by Betty Cavanna. Rereading it, I was astonished to come upon a passage about the ethics of taking artifacts from the Cambodian temples! Who knows? Perhaps this issue was simmering in the back of my thoughts for decades just waiting for a character like Irene to come along and tackle it.
As for my most favorite historical novel, hands down it’s Gone With the Wind. I was captivated from the first line: “Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were.” I bolted it down, all 1,024 pages of it, absorbed by the history, Scarlett’s determination, and romance on an epic scale. When I was done, I immediately started reading it again, and I read it half a dozen more times (at least) before I graduated from high school.
After college I worked in the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle, and that’s where my education with serious literature began. During the five years I was there, Michael Ondaatje taught me the poetry to be found in prose, Penelope Lively taught me how to layer a plot, and Graham Greene taught me the art of literary suspense. I discovered storytelling (and inspiration) on entirely new levels, in the books of Muriel Spark, Anita Brookner, Mark Helprin, and many other incredible writers.
When I’m writing, I’m usually buried in research and making my way through whatever novels happen to be on my “to read” list at the time. But there are moments when I need a boost, and then I’ll reread passages from novels that have educated me as a writer, such as The Quiet American, In the Skin of the Lion, Winter’s Tale, and Moon Tiger. I also like to read poetry when I’m writing fiction. Depending on what mood I’m trying to capture in a scene, I might turn to Pablo Neruda or Raymond Carver or Mary Oliver. Reading poetry reminds me how important every sentence is and how to craft sentences that have melody while conveying meaning at the same time.
RHRC: At the end of The Map of Lost Memories, the possibility exists for the story to continue on. Do you plan on writing sequel? Can you tell us what you’re working on now?
KF: I do intend to write a sequel. And while it will use the final chapter’s hidden treasure as a jumping- off point, it will surprise readers, I think, by following an unexpected path, especially since it will take place in Cambodia in the late 1950s and early 1960s, more than three decades after The Map of Lost Memories ends. But I don’t want to give too much away. And since I am still in the long process of plotting that story, I am in the meantime working on another novel close to my heart.
Because of my interest in Vietnamese cuisine, I have often been asked why food does not play a role in The Map of Lost Memories. The first reason is that the main character, Irene, is obsessed with one thing: finding the lost history of the Khmer. She doesn’t care about local food. The second reason is that I knew I could incorporate my love of cooking and eating into my next book, an untitled novel about murder, political intrigue, family secrets, and a culinary anthropologist in Vietnam during the mid-twentieth century.
Questions and Topics for Discussion1. At the beginning of the novel, Irene has strong feelings about her right to possess the scrolls and the fact that her possessing them will be in the Cambodians’ best interests. How much of this mindset is justified by the era in which the novel takes place, and could this mindset—art should belong to whoever can best protect it—be justified today? If so, how?
2. In addition, when the book opens, Irene is an ambitious—and arguably self- centered—character. Did you admire or dislike her attitudes and behavior? And if you disliked her, do you think you would have found her actions and ambitions more forgivable if she were a man?
3. Because of her complexity and unpredictable irrationality, Simone is a “love her or hate her” type of person. What traits do you feel make Simone alienating and what traits make her sympathetic?
4. Perhaps Simone deliberately killed Roger. Perhaps it was an accident. Which do you think it was, and why?
5. From the debauched streets of Shanghai to the humid landscapes of the Cambodian jungle, setting serves as its own character in The Map of Lost Memories. How do you feel that these environments shaped the characters? For example, the influence of Shanghai on Marc’s childhood, and the influence of the Cambodian wilderness on Irene ’s mindset as she treks closer toward her goal?
6. At one point in the book, Anne talks about the importance of going to the other side: “The place where one feels truly alive. Too many people surrender to a place of safety. That place where all they do is long to sleep so they can dream about living. Even if you don’t find what you think you’re looking for, darling, it’s the going out and looking for it that counts. That is the only way you can know you have lived.” Do you agree or disagree with Anne’s assessment of how most people live? Do you think this is what both Simone and Irene were doing over the course of the story, each in her own way? What about other characters such as Marc? Is the idea that “it’s the going out and looking for it that counts” a motto you would live by?
7. Although The Map of Lost Memories is considered an adventure novel, it is not fast- paced. Aspects of the era—lack of airplanes, freeways, mass communications systems—contribute to how the story unfolds. Discuss how different this novel would be if set in a later time period; for example, how the existence of helicopters or the Internet would alter such a story.
8. The Map of Lost Memories is primarily Irene ’s story, and as such is told from her perspective. If you could ask the author to insert a chapter from another character’s point of view, who would it be and why?
9. Both Irene and Simone are motivated by their own ambitions to the point of betrayal. Do you feel these women would have been better off had they been honest from the start, instead of using each other to a certain extent? Consider a woman’s position in the time period and the choices (or lack thereof) they had regarding their futures. In that sense, do you think by keeping secrets each of them were doing the best they could to protect themselves and their futures?
10. To expand on this, the novel is full of examples of blighted ambition and characters trapped by circumstance. Do you feel that unhappiness excuses the scheming behavior or betrayals of certain characters?
11. Although there are unexpected revelations about all the characters in the novel, perhaps the most surprising has to do with Henry Simms, Irene’s beloved mentor. Did you find Mr. Simms to be a sympathetic character? Why or why not?
12. At the end of the novel, Irene changes her mind about where she thinks the scrolls belong. Was there a specific turning point for this decision, or was this decision the result of an evolution in her thinking? Is her change of heart selfless, or is she simply turning her initial selfish desires in a new direction?
13. Similarly, in many ways, Simone is a very different person at the end of the novel than the woman Irene first encounters at Anne ’s party. Discuss the path of her transformation? Are there any ways she essentially doesn’t change?
14. What one adjective do you think best captures the character of Irene? Were you surprised by how others in your group perceived her? What are her strengths and her weaknesses? How does your perception of Irene change throughout the story?
15. The title of the novel is The Map of Lost Memories. Discuss the power of memories as a theme throughout the novel. Why do you think the author selected this title?

I can't believe the time has come for me to announce the upcoming paperback publication of The Map of Lost Memories, which is an Edgar Awards finalist for Best First Novel by an American Author (winner to be announced May 2). The paperback release date is June 18, 2013, and the paperback will feature this gorgeous new cover:


Many thanks to my family and friends, as well as so many wonderful book bloggers, for their support of my debut novel!

Apparently, The Next Big Thing is considered a kind of online chain letter. (The word floating around with it is "meme," but I've never really understood what that is!) I like to think of it as a reminder of how important it is to give shout-outs to writers I know and admire. Even before my novel was published, I enjoyed a circle of close writing friends, but since its publication and the opportunities that has presented, I have had the chance to make new writing friends around the country.
The idea behind The Next Big Thing is that I am tagged by a writer, and I in turn tag fellow writers – all of us write a blog post called The Next Big Thing, a Q&A in which we answer questions about a forthcoming book or work-in-progress. I was tagged twice, by Bee Ridgway and Karen Coates. I have known Karen for many years through ThingsAsian Press, the publishers of my guidebook and food memoir. Karen is an exceptional writer, whose new book, This Way More Better, is a kind of showcase of her journalistic treks through eleven Asian countries over the years. As always, her prose is accompanied by the evocative photography of her husband, Jerry Redfern. You can read more about her new book at her blog, Rambling Spoon .

Next up: Bee Ridgway. Bee and I have something wonderful in common: our agent, Alexandra Machinist. Through Alexandra (and Twitter), Bee and I have become email friends, supporters and confidantes. I have not read Bee’s upcoming debut novel, The River of No Return, but I am champing at the bit. You can be assured that on its pub date, April 23 of this year, I will dive right in. Here is a brief description: In Bee Ridgway’s wonderfully imaginative debut novel, a man and a woman travel through time in a quest to bring down a secret society that controls the past and, thus, the future. You can head to Bee’s blog to read more about her next big thing! 
Now, for the authors I am going to mercilessly tag into this game ... a couple have already been tagged by Karen and Bee, so I’m cheating a bit, but I don’t care. I love these two writers too much to not mention them here. The first is Dana Sachs, who is a longtime friend through our love of Vietnam, not to mention part of the “friend, supporter, confidante” email correspondence that Bee and I partake in. Before I met Dana, I read her memoir, House on Dream Street, about her time living in Hanoi in the early 1990s. Having lived in Vietnam myself for four years, I am fussy about how the country is depicted. I found Dana’s view to be compassionate and authentic, and so you can imagine how happy it made me to become friends with her. I’ve had the privilege to read an advance copy of her new novel, The Secrets of the Nightingale Palace, and I would like to give it the highest compliment: it’s pure Dana! She is such an elegant writer, and I read her books for their nuance. To learn more about this tale of a grandmother and her adult granddaughter crossing America to return a piece of Japanese art acquired from a friend of the grandmother’s just before the internment of the Japanese during WWII, go to Dana’s website. 
Continuing on … Janet Brown. How do I love Janet? Let me count the ways. But there’s the problem. I can’t count that high! Janet and I met as booksellers at the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle in 1989. Back then, we were not published and while we sold books and wrote, we also dreamed big of seeing the world. Lo and behold, we both did just that. I moved to Vietnam and she moved to Thailand. The publishing result for Janet is the absolute gem of a travel memoir, Tone Deaf in Bangkok. Tightly written, sly and culturally observant in a way I associate with such superstars as Graham Greene, this book is a treasure. Her forthcoming book, Almost Home, is its worthy rival. Not only did I have the honor of reading this book, I was invited to write the introduction. Almost Home takes readers on a search for home in faraway places: Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong. To find out more about Janet’s writing (she’s posting some fantastic new stuff these days), check out her blog, Tone Deaf in Thailand . 
Of the two other writers I have asked to participate, one is an old friend and one is new. Tiffany Hawk and I worked together at Gayot.com many years ago, and I’m thrilled that her debut novel, Love Me Anyway, is coming out this spring. I just finished reading an advance copy of this story of love and loneliness among United Airlines flight attendants in the months that circle around 9/11 – I have so many wonderful things to say about it, much of which can be found here at my GoodReads review for the novel. 


As for my new friend, Anne-Marie Ruff and I were united on a panel at the West Hollywood Book Fair. Anne-Marie is a terrific writer. Her first novel, Through These Veins, is a smart exploration of cultural divides and scientific ethics. You can read more about her story of the discovery a plant in Africa believed to cure AIDS, and the ruthless pharmaceutical company trying to appropriate it, at her website. She’s also just finished the first draft of her new novel, Beneath the Same Heaven, which she’ll hopefully write about for The Next Big Thing. 


Finally, I am going to be sneaky. I didn’t ask the next two writers to play The Next Big Thing game (I hate pestering friends when I know how busy they are), but I’m going to include them anyway. Donna Miscolta and I were paired on a reading stage at the Wordstock festival in Portland, and because of this, I picked up When the de la Cruz Family Danced. The story of a Filipino family in Southern California, and the mystery surrounding the father’s possible illegitimate son from a childhood sweetheart back in the Philippines, this is a thought-provoking look at family, culture and belonging. Donna's writing is so finely tuned, and I found myself reading slowly, savoring paragraphs, so I could absorb the details. Head to Donna's blog to read more about this beautiful novel. 

Last but not least, go to Courtney Miller Santo's blog to find out about her first novel, The Roots of the Olive Tree. As with Bee, Courtney and I also share the same divine agent. Courtney's book is a multi-generational tale (five generations of women!) that tackles questions of longevity and family ties. This is definitely a novel for book clubs. There is so much to talk about, with ideas ranging from the intimate (family) to the big picture (genetics). When I read this I thought how great it would be to have a book club with all the female members of my family -- the conversation would surely last for hours!


Now to the main event, the ten interview question for The Next Big Thing:
What is your working title of your novel-in-progress?To Feed Such Hunger
Where did the idea come from for the book?The daily, domestic lives of my friends in Saigon during the Vietnam-American war.
What genre does your book fall under?As with my debut novel, The Map of Lost Memories, which came out last August, this new one does not fall easily into any category. There is a literary aspect. There is a mystery aspect. There is a historical aspect. How about: historical literary mystery?
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Since I’m only 130 pages into the first draft, I haven’t reached the fantasy casting stage yet! Though the main character, Lena Sundholm, is physically modeled after Jean Seberg in Bonjour Tristesse. 
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?Murder, political intrigue and family secrets in the life of a culinary anthropologist in Vietnam during the mid-twentieth century.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?I am represented by Alexandra Machinist of Janklow & Nesbit.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?I have just started, so this is another question I can’t answer. I’m hoping to be done with the first draft by the end of summer.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?I don’t have any specific comparisons, but I’m hoping to use everything I’ve learned from Graham Greene and Penelope Lively in this novel. As well, I want the book to have a large scope, spanning decades and illuminating an often-ignored side of Vietnamese/American history.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?The close friends in Vietnam mentioned above.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?At this point I’d rather not say. The story is still so raw, and I have a couple angles I hope will draw readers in from the start. But until I get them down in some firm fashion on in the first draft, I’m more comfortable keeping them to myself.

Last week, I packed my bags (filled mostly with provisions and books) and headed for a land I have not visited in a very long while … the Land of No Responsibility. I was accepted for a residency at the Dorland Mountain Arts Colony in Temecula, California, where for one whole week, I would do nothing more than write. As it turned out, I wrote, read, wrote, researched, wrote, hiked, wrote, attempted to bake bread (failure!), wrote, stared at sunsets, wrote and basked in the luxury of giving over my entire mind to my new novel.
My cabin at the Dorland Mountain Arts ColonyDorland dates back to the 1930s and sits on a beautiful, sprawling nature preserve. Due to a massive wildfire in 2004, Dorland today consists of just two brand new cabins (with more in the works) – with one artist per cabin. I attended with a close friend who is a writer and musician. Our idea was that we would work during the days and discuss what we were working on over dinner each night. In fact, I was so absorbed in my writing that we met only three of the seven nights that we were there, hiked a couple times in order to clear our heads, but otherwise kept to ourselves. After all, how often in an adult’s life can she retreat in full from the world?
Every sunset view from my front porch was captivatingNo internet. No TV. Just the necessities: electricity for my laptop, a well-designed mini-kitchen, expansive views over the valley, a large writing desk, more tables for writing wherever I felt like situating myself at any given time, and a wood stove, with wood provided by the caretakers (also artists-in-residence), Robert and Janice. The couple greeted us upon arrival, to let us know they were there if we needed them, but otherwise, our privacy would be respected and our solitude ensured. True to their word, they revealed themselves only once … halfway through the week Robert came down to check on my stock of firewood and at the same time deliver a slice of homemade apple pie—tart and flavorful and perfect.
Rain & writing midway through the week
The first morning of the residency, I felt a bit disoriented. I did not have to check my emails. I did not have to check a clock to figure out how much time I had to write before I needed to start work or take care of countless other daily commitments. As I got started, I could feel myself writing as if with a harness on. I eased in on my beloved Smith-Corona Coronet, because the sound of the keys always gives me a boost. Then I transitioned to my computer, and as the chapter I was working on began to head in a new, exciting direction, I could feel the restraints falling away. I could also feel myself being watched.

Room with a view ... of my daily muse!I looked up, and there outside my window, just a few feet from my desk, was a deer, checking up on me before leaning down to nuzzle a patch of grass. Two more joined in the feast, and in a moment that can only be described as spiritual, a weight lifted off me. I love my life, but it’s a busy life, and throughout my week at Dorland I learned how to untangle myself from the restrictions on my writing that I’d become too accustomed to and slip into a rhythm in which I could write at any time, at any hour, for as long or as short a stretch as I wanted. And when I was not writing, I learned that I did not have to give my mind over to anything else.

Another day, another gorgeous sunset
Upon arrival at Dorland, I felt a kind of euphoria. The morning I had to leave, I sat down in my rocking chair in front of my beautiful view and sobbed. Not because I was sad to go, but because writing with such freedom for a whole week had been cathartic. I hadn’t realized how much I’d needed it. Allowing myself that kind of unfettered liberty had been a way of believing in myself as a “real writer.” Funny how someone who has had a novel published by a major publisher doesn’t come to that belief naturally. I realized that attending a colony such as this one was about more than setting aside time to work.  It was about creating a balance of external and internal space. It was about giving myself permission to take myself seriously. It was about returning to the reason I started writing in the first place: it gives me so much pleasure.
 Dorland, thank you. I hope to return soon.

The holidays are approaching, there's no better gift than a book, and there's no better place to buy a book than an independent bookstore. In tribute to the many wonderful indie bookshops I have worked at and frequented over the years, I offer the following ...

As my debut novel, The Map of Lost Memories, entered the production phase at Random House, I was assigned the task of helping to find writers to blurb it. Blurbs are those lovely, self-contained snippets on the backs of novels, in which known authors assure readers that a book is “evocative” or a “tour de force.” Desperately wanting my own novel to be declared “compelling” and “unputdownable,” I contacted everyone I knew who knew someone who had published a novel.

I also made some big leaps, writing to überfamous authors such as Michael Ondaatje and Ann Patchett. The latter was easy since I could send my request to her newly opened Parnassus Books in Nashville. Of course, I didn’t expect blurbs from such heavy hitters. But if you’re going to dream, dream big, kid! Right?
I also didn’t expect to open my mailbox one day and find a postcard depicting a vintage Penguin paperback cover of D.H. Lawrence’s The Lost Girl. On the back of it was something I hadn’t seen come out of my mailbox in years, other than briefly in thank you cards—handwriting! The postcard contained a thoughtful note declining to read my novel for a blurb and ending with, “I will look forward to selling your book when it comes out this summer. Good luck and all good wishes. Ann Patchett.”
Perhaps it seems that this rejection would have disappointed me. But I can only imagine how busy Ms. Patchett must be, writing exceptional novels, tending her bookshop and deflecting pleas from people like me. And to say that I was touched is an understatement. I was moved, not just emotionally, but in my thoughts back to another place and time: the five years that I worked as an independent bookseller at the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle.
At this store (before the arrival of the Internet), I discovered how a brick-and-mortar shop can serve as an anchor for a community. It can be a gathering place as well as a place where ideas are discussed and explored. I spent many an evening with customers, sharing my passion for Graham Greene or being introduced to the gustatory pleasures of MFK Fisher … exchanges that dipped and soared with the revelations and educations those books contained. My fellow booksellers and I lovedauthors, those magical creatures who took words—simple words—and molded them into conversations that could be passed around the world. What an honor it was to be able to play such a crucial role in keeping those conversations alive.
Later, after four years in Vietnam, I moved to L.A. I was making my living as a writer by this point, but I missed being in a bookshop, so I took a Saturday job at Traveler’s Bookcase, a wonderful little travel bookshop that is still a home away from home for me. Next door was a companion store called Cook’s Library, and one morning I wandered over there to research a Vietnamese food book I was working on. While I was sitting on the floor with books spread out in front of me, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
I looked up to see a young Vietnamese woman studying my selections. It turned out that she had just finished writing a cookbook based on recipes from her childhood in Little Saigon, an hour south of Los Angeles, and when I told her what I was doing, she offered advice on which books I should buy for my research. Two hours later, we were still in Cook’s Library, talking away. Two weeks later, my sister took the photographs for her cookbook. This summer she came to my wedding, and last month I attended hers.
In the years since she and I met, Cook’s Library has gone out of business. I often wonder how many potential best friendships went away with it. Perhaps this is why Ms. Patchett’s note meant so much to me, for it embodies something that is alive and well for any reader who takes the time to look for it: the personal experience to be had in an independent bookshop. It is an experience that cannot be found anywhere else, an experience that is essential to the future of the planet if we are to remain sane, humane beings.

I enjoy blogs. It's such a pleasure to read the insights of my friends around the world. I regularly follow Tone Deaf in Thailand, Garlic Never Sleeps and Andy's Cambodia. And I think blogs can be fun especially if you have a special interest. I remember when blogs started gaining legitimacy and I came across Chocolate & Zucchini and Orangette. Charming stories of life, love and kitchens paired with recipes—what more could a fan of MFK Fisher and Laurie Colwin want?
That said, I would by no means call myself a blog aficionado. This is why I’ve had such a wonderful time since the publication of my debut novel last month. I’ve discovered a whole blog genre: the book blog. In this world, people read books, they write about books and they share their love of books. And they do so not just as individuals. They are a connected community. And they are gracious. Oh so gracious!
So here at my own little blog, I want to give my thanks to the many bloggers who have offered such wonderful support for The Map of Lost Memories in so many varied ways, from reviews to interviews to invitations to write guest posts. Following are descriptions and excerpts, as well as links (just click the title) if you'd like to read more.
GUEST POSTS:
Meg Waite Clayton Meg graciously invited me to write a post for her First Books column, about how my book came to be published.
Historical Tapestry For this guest post I was asked to write a Books of a Lifetime column. The result: a tribute to Gone with the Wind.
The Page 69 Test For this fun blog, I was asked to look at page 69 of my novel and write about whether or not it represents the book and would entice readers.

My Book, The Movie Another fun idea – casting my book. Although I was stumped when I realized my original casting choices had aged while my characters had not during the fourteen years it took me to write the novel!
INTERVIEWS: 
Reading the Past Along with a lovely review, Reading the Past’s Sarah Johnson gave me the opportunity to answer some terrific interview questions.
Jaffa Reads Too Jo Barton was equally generous in reviewing my book and inviting me to answer these thoughtful interview questions.
Historical Novel Society I spent almost two hours on the phone with Krisen Hannum for this interview, and it was such a good time! I’m flattered by the thoroughness of her article.
REVIEWS:
Once a Bookseller From the review: The plot twists alone would make this an intriguing novel but Kim Fay has skillfully added well-researched history, intertwining the story of a vanished empire with the lives of her characters without making one false or stilted move.
Reading the Past From the review: Kim Fay’s extraordinary first novel has everything great historical adventure fiction should—a strikingly original setting, exhilarating plot twists, and a near-impossible quest. It stands out even more with its one-of-a-kind characters and sensitivity to colonialism’s harsh effects on the local populace, although its gutsy protagonist doesn’t initially share this concern.
Susan B. Kason From the review: Kim Fay is not only an engaging storyteller, but a beautiful writer who made me feel like I was in 1925 Shanghai (minus the cocaine), Saigon, and Cambodia. The smells, the clothes, the food–she covers it all. She also makes the reader think about ethical issues of art acquisitions, especially when it comes to art from occupied countries.
Book Babe From the review: This is a story that is a blend of historical fiction, greed, determination, women making waves, anger, finger-pointing, and tied with an ending that just left me sitting there with my mouth hanging open.
The Mystery Gazette From the review: This is an exciting historical thriller that brings to life China and Cambodia at a time when the West was still raiding national treasures. 
Nancy Famolari’s Author Spotlight From the review: This is a marvelous book. The author describes Indochina so well you actually breathe in the heavily scented air and feel the slippery sweat on your skin … I highly recommend this book. The tension will keep you reading. The plot is fascinating and not unraveled until the very end, although the clues are provided throughout. I didn't want it to end. In fact, the ending made me wonder whether there will be a sequel.
The Gilmore Guide to Books From the review: The book is marvelous, escapist reading, layered with relationships, mysteries, and danger. The only thing that is certain is that there is no certainty- either of the success of their quest or of anyone’s motives. 
Joyce’s Choices From the review: Set in 1925, this is a sophisticated adventure that takes place in Shanghai and Cambodia. The author draws the reader into an exotic universe as the search for lost treasure in Cambodia becomes an exciting tale of a female curator venturing into a man's world. 
Just Book Reading From the review: While the big draw for me was the setting, Shanghai and the Cambodian jungle in 1925, it was the characters that surprised me. Everyone has secrets so deeply ingrained it drug them all down and each and every character fought out of desperation; each not wanting to admit being wrong or to give in. The setting amplified every single flaw these characters carried.
Sia McKye Over Coffee From the review: Imagine if F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby) had written Indiana Jones, with a female protagonist. There would be adventure, but there would also be lush, rich prose. There would be a treasure hunt (with snakes!), but there would also be seething emotional undercurrents, an exploration of twisted personalities and questionable motives. This is that book, the Map of Lost Memories, a debut historical fiction from Kim Fay. 
Book Magnet From the review: Part adventure (think Indiana Jones, but with a female lead), part quest, part mystery, The Map of Lost Memories is passionate, fast-paced, absorbing, and full of plot twists.  The lush, green vegetation of Cambodia and the rhythms, habits, and culture of the country come to life. 
Cookies, Books & Bikes From the review: This book was interesting, at times enthralling and had such depth of character that I had a hard time putting it down occasionally. It isn’t a blow everything up and edge of my seat adventure as the back may make it sound but instead a fascinating character novel with a touch of adventure and mystery. 
The Okester From the review: More than being about the adventure, I felt that this novel is about people, relationships and culture. This book is a realistic and methodical story outlining the difficulties in traveling halfway around the world to try and uncover a long-hidden secret while trying to stay beneath the radar and red tape of governments, museums and other treasure hunters. 
Bailey’s & Books From the review: Have you ever wished for a female heroine that was a mash-up of Indiana Jones and a female Fitzgerald character? Have you ever been to Southeast Asia and wished some writer could bring you back there with vivid writing of places that you remember fondly? Have you ever wanted with a flip of a page to be transported back in time to a world between the wars? If you answered yes to any of these questions, immediately pick up Kim Fay’s terrific new book The Map of Lost Memories.
Christy’s Books From the review: One of the things I was fearful of when I started reading – because I knew the story was mostly set in Shanghai and Cambodia – was the glorification or romanticism of colonialism. As I read, I was satisfied that wasn't going to happen. It showed a pretty honest view of how western cultures were forced on people on the east, and how this changed the natives of these countries, both for good and for worse.
Cayocosta72 – Book Reviews From the review: Amazingly evocative of a time long past; the descriptions of the people and places Irene travels are mouth watering. Highly recommended.
Book Loons From the review: Kim Fay's The Map of Lost Memories combines the 1925 exploits of a female Indiana Jones (her heroine Irene Blum who has always had a 'passion for Khmer studies') with a thought provoking subtext on the ethics of taking historical artefacts from the lands in which they are rooted for display in Western museums … The Map of Lost Memories is a wonderful read, thought provoking, rich in history, and filled with adventure and hints of romance - highly recommended.
Jaffa Reads Too From the review: An abundance of rich and varied characters combine to make this a really satisfying read. I read it over the space of several evenings, and found myself drawn into the story so much I didn’t notice the passage of time. I am sure that reading groups will enjoy discussing this book, as there’s enough factual history combined with an intrepid adventure story to occupy the most erudite of book clubbers!
I will continue adding to this list as more posts appear. Again, my boundless thanks to every one of these bloggers for taking the time to read The Map of Lost Memories and offering such gracious reviews.

When: September 9, 4pm - 7pmWhere: Curve Line Space gallery in Los Angeles (Eagle Rock), California
For more details about this event, see below:For information about upcoming events for The Map of Lost Memories, click here.